Baka no Hohoemi
by Fire and Sand
Summary: Sasuke chose not to be with Naruto. The words, the expressions, and the reasons behind Sasuke's actions over the course of their relationship that led to it, and its explanation are all in here. Was Naruto left alive for more than a whim? Minor shounen ai


Fire: Welcome to Naruto's birthday present!

Naruto: --;; If it's my birthday present, why are you still calling me a baka?

Sasuke: Because you are.

Fire: Happy birthday Naruto! (glomps Naruto) Another year older!

Sakura: And still just as stupid.

Naruto: Sakura-chan! It's my birthday! Don't call me stupid on my birthday!

Fire: Anyway, don't expect too much out of this. It's just something I thought of while reading chapter 309 of the Naruto manga, so if you haven't read pass that yet, don't read this!

Naruto: Now, I want to read it!

Fire: Tobi! Roll the story!

Tobi: But―

Fire: I said roll it!

Tobi: (sighs and pulls the oneshot onto the screen) ...

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Disclaimer: I know you might mistake me for Masashi-sensei but... What am I saying! That will never happen!

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Note: All Japanese terms are used for artistic purposes. If you have no idea what we're talking about, go to the profile page for the glossary. More complicated phrases will be explained at the bottom of the screen.

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Warning: SPOILER ALERT! Okay, maybe minor spoilers, but if you haven't read pass chapter 209, don't read this story. These are Sasuke's contemplations after that chapter. I don't want to say more because then I'd need a spoiler alert for this spoiler alert. XP

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**Baka no Hohoemi**

**A Fire Project**

**Oneshot**

**T** here was a reason for everything. Sasuke understood that. In fact, he understood it better than anyone else. He had known well—probably even better than Naruto—that Naruto was his rival, so when they were assigned to the same team, it was only more annoying for him.

Naruto had proclaimed himself his rival long ago. So long ago that neither of them remembered when they began officially hating each other. Sasuke only knew that he had never said he hated Naruto, and he had never said that he was Naruto's rival. They were all the blond shinobi's words.

He only wanted Naruto to stop.

So, it wasn't surprising that he would get irritated. Who was more unfortunate in their relationship? Naruto? No! It was him! He had to deal with two annoying teammates, a sensei who was never on time, and the fact that no matter what he did, his strength was still inferior to Naruto's!

That was why he had to leave. He couldn't kill Itachi like that! He couldn't stand in Naruto's shadow and still grow strong!

"Where is he?" Sasuke's voice sounded coldly in the dark room. His sharingan could see clearly in the darkness, even though Kabuto couldn't. "He always disappears!"

"He'll be here soon, Sasuke-sama" Kabuto said, his voice hiding all traces of fear effectively. He had learned how to do it well over the last few years. He had gotten used to Sasuke's impatient disrespect, his intimidating presence. There was no point trying to change him because it would never happen anyway.

"Che!" Sasuke didn't believe anything Kabuto said. Soon. It was always soon! When they left Naruto and Sakura in Kusa no Kuni, he did it to improve his chances of killing Itachi! Nothing else!

If Orochimaru wasn't going to help him do that, there was no point in staying.

"One more hour," then he would drag that old man here, even if he had to destroy him first!

"And you should know," Kabuto said casually, almost as if trying to amicably change the subject. "Uzumaki Naruto is working hard. Perhaps—"

"Why are you telling me this?" Sasuke's angry red eyes cut the rest of Kabuto's words from existence. "Leave! Now!"

The dark-haired shinobi brooded over Kabuto's news as the silver-haired Oto-nin hurried out of the room. Sasuke knew that Kabuto did it on purpose. Nothing could affect him...except that. Naruto. Even after three years, Naruto still remained on his mind, plaguing him with that irritating smile. Even though he was a pitiful kid, he still kept smiling that annoying smile.

He wanted to rip it off his face. Because he knew that Naruto would never stop following him. If he could only tear that determined smile off that jinchuuriki's face, Naruto would finally leave him alone! If only he could really hurt him...

But not even what he had said in Kusa no Kuni had any effect.

He didn't have any more ideas. He couldn't think of anything else to say to him, nothing that would hurt him any more than he already had.

_'Only on a whim...'_

He had surprised himself with those words...because it was the truth. He didn't realize it until he came face to face with him again, but at that time, he hadn't wanted to crush Naruto. It wasn't until then that he realized that when they were at Shuumatsu no Tani, he truly didn't want to kill him.

It was truly a whim.

And it was on a whim that he wanted to kill him. If only to hurt that blond man who refused to feel pain in front of him, who hid his emotions behind that shaky smile, he had wanted to kill him!

Because he knew what Naruto was really like.

That stubborn shinobi who didn't know how to give up... Sasuke knew he would never hate him, no matter what he did. If he destroyed villages worth of innocent people, or a country of lives to kill his brother, Naruto could still forgive him. If he destroyed himself to get to that goal, he could still return to Naruto.

_'That's why we must bear it, Naruto.'_ Because he could think of no other way to get there. There was no other path in front of him.

But slowly, as he destroyed his past, he knew time was running short. He needed to kill Itachi soon, because slowly, the path to Naruto was fading from his memory. Soon, there would be nowhere to go. Soon, he would have nowhere to return to.

Even if he didn't kill him, Naruto would vanish forever.

"Kabuto!" He shouted, bringing the silver-haired medic-nin running into the room. Sasuke could wait no longer! "Kabuto, kuso sannin-wa doko ni imasu-ka? Kare no iru tokoro o sagase!"

He didn't have time for regrets. He didn't have time to think about the past, or the future. All he could focus on was the present, and presently, he needed to get stronger!

And most of all, he needed to forget Naruto's idiotic smile.

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Moral of the Story:

Limitless potential is only limited by what others will allow. Everyone has a leash tied around them, only long enough to reach some goals and keeping them around from others. The insignificant actions of one person, words or a single smile, can push people toward or away from their goals. Empowering someone or imprisoning someone can be as easy as a simple gesture.

Fire's English tidbits for those who care:

Here's another tidbit! I've been guilty of using this when I was still in high school. I wonder why my teacher never corrected me. --;; Anyway, if you use "is when" or "is where" to introduce an adverb clause (a subordinate clause that functions as an adverb―ie. Modifies the verb), it's incorrect. So if you tend to write sentences like, "A genjutsu is when chakra is used to create illusions," try changing it so that those phrases are omitted. "A genjutsu creates illusions," would be better.

Fire's first footnote for a story, ever:

Phrase one: Kuso sannin-wa doko ni imasu-ka? Question: Where is that damned sannin?

Phrase two: Kare no iru tokoro o sagase! Command: Find where he is! Or, loosely translated: Find him!

Fire's babbling:

Fire: My first footnote! Yay!

Naruto: --;;

Fire: ...

Naruto: You wrote _that_ for my birthday?

Fire: It was Sasuke's idea.

Naruto: (turns to Sasuke) I want another present. This one sucked.

Sakura: You should be grateful! (punches Naruto in the head) At least he actually gave you something for your birthday! I was neglected!

Sasuke: You want something else?

Naruto: YES!

Sasuke: (eyes go sharingan) ...

Naruto: Um...I change my mind.

Sasuke: But Naruto, you wanted something else.

Naruto: (sweats) ...

Fire: Sasuke! Don't kill Naruto on his birthday!

Sasuke: (chidori spread throughout his body) ...

Fire: Sasuke! I said no!

Sakura: Um...please review. Review quickly so we have something to distract Sasuke-kun with! Fast!

Fire: Sasuke! Don't hurt Naruto! I said stop!

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